We all know the the EB2 dev team's official stance on phalanxes in the time period the game is set in. That they were but a shadow of their predecessors in Alexander's day, that they fought with the mindset of the relatively "chivalrous" or mercenary-minded soldier prevalent in the Hellenistic kingdoms (so they usually expected to not fight to the last, to be treated decently as prisoners of war, to be given chances to switch sides, etc.), and that their main purpose was just to "pin" the foe (being the anvil to the hammer of cavalry). All of that being said, I have two issues I find problems in how they are interpreted through the lenses formed by the points above; these being, one, the "manner" in which phalangites "pin" the foe, and, two, the actual ability of sarissas (the weapon itself) to kill.
Before anything else, let's take a look at this excerpt brought to my eyes by Sint in the fan suggestions thread:
From Plutarch, The Parallel Lives -
For the Romans tried to thrust aside the long spears of their enemies with their swords, or to crowd them back with their shields, or to seize and put them by with their very hands;while the Macedonians, holding them firmly advanced with both hands, and piercing those who fell upon them, armour and all, since neither shield nor breastplate could resist the force of the Macedonian long spear, hurled headlong back the Pelignians and Marrucinians, who, with no consideration but with animal fury rushed upon the strokes that met them, and a certain death.When the first line had thus been cut to pieces, those arrayed behind them were beaten back; and though there was no flight, still they retired towards the mountain called Olocrus,so that even Aemilius, as Poseidonius tells us, when he saw it, rent his garments. For this part of his army was retreating, and the rest of the Romans were turning aside from the phalanx, which gave them no access to it, but confronted them as it were with a dense barricade of long spears, and was everywhere unassailable.
So I guess, what the dev team got from this, and other accounts and historical works they perused in greater depth than I ever would was, in summary, that the phalanx was "unassailable". So how did they express this in the M2TW's engine? They created a static, perfectly ordered block of men, that no matter what happened, would remain a beautiful rectangle. Basically, they made living walls that would oh so gently prod opposing foes with ineffective pokes. The problem I have with this is that it completely flips the role of a sarissa, or a pike, of being a primarily OFFENSIVE weapon. The only time a pike wall would have to remain grounded is if they were about to receive an enemy cavalry charge (or elephants). Against other melee infantry, they thrust, advance, thrust, advance, thrust, advance, over and over again until the enemy is routed. That is literally all they have to and can do! They don't need to care that much for covering themselves, or shielding their rankmates, or footwork, or parrying, or even aiming. Their sarissas can pierce through most armor, their vulnerable states (the time when they pull back their heavy pikes in order to thrust a few seconds later) are covered by the FOUR OTHER ROWS of thrusting pikes, and they are almost always at a "safe" distance from the foe (due to the length of the pike). This is the PINNING power of a phalanx. Not being a static, passive wall, but a meat grinder of thrusting spears. All of this however hinges on the ability of the sarissa to actually KILL stuff. If most sarissas just gently clatter against enemies, and softly caress their breastplates, then heavily armored opponents can take those hits, divert the pikes, close the distance till their chins touch the phalangites' torsos and stab the pikemen's guts dead. It is the same idea (in a fencing bout) of using your foil to continuously thrust as to keep your foe from gaining optimal distance and time to attack. Defensive offense (True defense would be you actually parrying or blocking the attacks)! Again, however, if your foil attacks aren't credited with any points, then your opponent can just close in regardless of all your thrusting. Also, if you were to just hold your foil outstretched and slowly and occasionally poke them, it won't mean anything (quite like how passive phalanxes are now).
The static blocks of EB2 I addressed by suggesting phalanxes just turn off their guard modes. It was factually proven that proper pikemen (phalangites and agema) definitively have FAR better performances with guard mode off. Now, I want to go one step further (oh no the careful unit stat balance!) in my personal modifications. How do I, in the context of the strict (and generally well formulated) EB2 unit stats, calculate a better but still reasonable attack stat for ALL pike users? How is an attack stat broken down? Who are the pike units in the vast EB2 roster? Can I just give pikemen an armor piercing bonus and call it a day? What is the number value assigned to a sarissa as a weapon? Please help??